Biographical/Historical note

The Western Association of Women Historians (WAWH) was organized in 1969 to meet the diverse needs of women historians in the Western United States. First known as the West Coast Association of Women Historians, the organization brought together women historians in colleges and universities to share scholarship and develop professional networking. In 1980 the organization’s name was changed to the Western Association of Women Historians. Over a period of 40 years the organization has grown to include a membership of over 400 historians. During this time WAWH enabled women to share ideas and experiences which not only redirected scholarship but also changed the course of women historians. Women historians responded to the equal rights and women’s liberation movement at the national and local levels to elevate the status of women faculty members on campuses.

Annual conferences include scholarly panels and papers on diverse historical fields which are a major source of information sharing. Executive and Business meetings provide opportunities for organizational input from members. Annual prizes for books/monographs, articles and dissertations by the membership stimulate competition and participation in the historical process. A goal of WAWH is to integrate the study of women into mainstream history. A WAWH task force strives to do this in two ways: first, by including the history of women within the profession; and second, by pressuring textbook publishers and public schools to integrate women’s history into the larger historical context.

Scope and Contents note

Over a forty year period, WAWH has amassed a collection of minutes of Executive and Business meetings, written and electronic communications of the Executive Committee members, communications of Award and Prize Committee members, program reports, programs of Annual Conferences, newsletters, and artifacts related to the organizations. Given the duration of the organization’s history some communications are missing.

Administrative Information

Publication Information

California State University, Sacramento Special Collections & University Archives November 2010

The Library2000 State University Drive EastSacramento, CA, 95819-6039916-278-6144scua@csus.edu

Conditions Governing Access note

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use note

Copyright is protected by the copyright law, Chapter 17 of the U.S. Code. Requests for permission to publish, quote, or reproduce from collections must be submitted in writing to the Head of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives. Permission for publication is given on the behalf of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives, The Library, California State University, Sacramento as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Accruals note

Updates to the collection will be submitted to CSUS Special Collections and University Archives annually.

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

The Western Association of Women Historians records were donated to the Department of Special Collections and University Archives by Amy Essington in 2005.

Series 2. Annual Conference Material 1969-2010

Arrangement note

Contains the programs, call for papers, attendance lists, hotel and meeting room contracts, biographies of speakers, correspondence, and miscellaneous material associated with the conference which was held in the spring of each year. Copies of papers presented at the annual conference for the years 1983 through 1989 are also included in this series.

Series 3. Newsletters 1970-2010

Arrangement note

This series contains an incomplete run of the quarterly newsletter of the WAWH. It has had three different titles during its publication: (1) From 1970 to 1980, it was entitled
The West Coast Association of Women Historians Newsletter; (2) From 1980 to 1982, it was entitled
The Western Association of Women Historians Newsletter; and (3) From 1982 to the present it was entitled
The Networker.

Series 4. Awards and Prizes 1982-2010

Arrangement note

Arranged alphabetically by the name of the prize, this series contains the reports, by-laws, list of winners, and correspondence for the six prizes the WAWH awards annually. The prizes are: (1) The Graduate Student Conference Paper Prize; (2) the Founders’ Dissertation Fellowship; (3) the Judith Lee Ridge Prize given for the best article in the field of history published by a WAWH member; (4) the Barbara Penny Kanner prize for the best scholarly bibliographical and historical guide to research focused on women or gender history; (5) the Gita Chaudhuri Prize for the best monograph about rural women published by a WAWH member; and (6) the Keller-Sierra Prize for the best monograph published by a WAWH member. Also included in this series are the articles submitted in 1989 for the Judith Lee Ridge Prize.